Kallikantzaros
Kallikantzaros — The Encounter
Goat-Legged Goblin of the Twelve Nights · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Kallikantzaros
From the dark of the solstice to the morning of the twelfth night, the kallikantzaroi crawl up from beneath the earth, where for the whole year they have gnawed the great tree that holds the world aloft. For these twelve nights the gnawing stops and the goblins climb instead into the homes of men, souring milk, fouling hearths, braiding the manes of beasts, and stealing from the larder. They are small and ugly and half-blind in daylight, goat-shanked and tusked, and they cannot count past two, so a colander left on the threshold will hold them counting its holes until the cock crows. Fire, the smell of burning salt, and a marked cross turn them away. When the festival ends they slink back down to find the tree healed whole, and so begin again to gnaw it through. Folk burn the Yule log all twelve nights to keep them from the chimney.
Run Kallikantzaros in Sixty Seconds
- Hold its turn until it is above someone — the height bonus (+1d6 on the first hit) is the whole point; never let it fight flat-footed on the ground.
- Open by climbing to a branch or rafter, then dropping onto the nearest squishy caster with the saw.
- Kill-priority: it goes for whoever is unarmored and alone; pull it off your wizard by blocking the climb route.
- When bloodied, it stops trading and uses Scamper to Disengage and skitter up out of melee reach, harassing from above.
- Three ways to run it: a chittering pack of three that flank and gang one target; a saboteur that saws bridges and supports mid-fight; or a leashed lieutenant beside a Krampus or St. Nick.
Kallikantzaros
Small fey (goblinoid), chaotic evil
CR 2 · 450 XP · GUIDELINETwelve Nights' Mischief. The kallikantzaros has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while at least one other kallikantzaros it can see is within 10 feet of the same target. While above another creature (on a branch, ledge, or rooftop), its first weapon attack each turn deals an extra 3 (1d6) damage.
Sawn Roots. As folklore tells, these goblins gnaw the world-tree below. When the kallikantzaros hits a wooden object or structure with a melee attack, that attack deals double damage to it. Its climb speed never provokes opportunity attacks for moving along trees, walls, or beams.
Actions
Multiattack. The kallikantzaros makes two attacks: one with its Crude Saw and one with its Bite.
Crude Saw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Scamper. Bonus Action. The kallikantzaros takes the Dash or Disengage action, or climbs up to its climb speed.
A hunched, goat-legged goblin with shaggy fur, jutting tusks, and a snaggle-toothed leer, clambering a black gnarled tree with a saw, club, and ladle in its filthy hands. It comes only in the dark of midwinter, one of a chittering pack.
Kallikantzaros, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINESwitch and Birch (signature). Once per turn when the bound goblin hits a creature that has moved on its last turn, the target has disadvantage on its next attack roll.
Actions
Birch Lash. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
Reactions
Skitter Aside. When a creature it can see ends its turn within 5 feet, the goblin may move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
A leashed midwinter goblin that scampers at the heels of its keeper, snapping a birch switch at anyone foolish enough to turn their back.
Guideline numbers — formula-tuned and read from the miniature's design, not yet table-proven. Tell us how it ran in the comments.
How It Fights — by Tier
Same creature, scaled threat. The traits never change; only the numbers move.
Open from above: have it climb to a branch or rafter before fighting so its first swing gets the +3 height bonus, then drop the saw on the nearest soft caster. Run kallikantzaroi in twos or threes so Twelve Nights' Mischief lights up their Stealth and they gang the same target. Pair them with a bigger midwinter threat (a Krampus or armored St. Nick) and let the goblins flank and harass while the heavy hitter holds the line.
Scale a single goblin up as an elite skirmisher amid weaker minions. Keep it above the party for the height damage, use Scamper every turn so it is never where the melee wants it, and target whoever has the lowest AC. It is glass: focus-fire from the party drops it, so let it pick off stragglers rather than stand and trade.
At this tier it is a lieutenant in a lair, not a solo threat. Run it with a flock of lesser kallikantzaroi and a flagship midwinter boss; the goblin saws structural supports and ropes so the room collapses or floods while the boss presses. Open with Sawn Roots on the bridge or balcony the party stands on, then have it flee upward and harry from the rafters.
Put Kallikantzaros on the table
Download the presupported STL and run the fight tonight — the model, and the encounter that comes with it.
Get the STL on MyMiniFactory →Clay Cyanide Companion Rules v1
How a bound creature acts
- A companion acts on its owner's initiative, immediately after the owner.
- It uses the Companion block above — roughly ×0.6 HP and damage, no recharge abilities, and at most one reaction trait.
- It moves freely; it takes its Action only while its owner is conscious.
- At 0 HP a companion is broken, not dead — restored on a long rest unless your table rules otherwise.
Original Clay Cyanide material © Clay Cyanide LLC — explicitly not the non-SRD official sidekick rules.
Questions, Asked at the Table
What CR is Kallikantzaros?
The native build is CR 2 (450 XP), tuned for a level 1-4 party as a Tier 1 skirmisher. Scaled stat blocks are provided for Tier 2 (levels 5-10) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15) so it can ride along in higher-level midwinter encounters as an add-on.
Can Kallikantzaros be a companion or ally?
Yes — the Krampusling, Bound sidebar gives a leashed midwinter goblin (AC 12, 27 HP) with a birch lash and a punish-the-mover trait, suitable as a henchman or a wrangled pet for a darker party. As an enemy it works best in packs or beside a larger boss.
Why does it care so much about being above its target?
Folklore casts the kallikantzaroi as tree-climbing, roof-scrambling intruders, so the kit rewards verticality: it has a climb speed, ignores opportunity attacks on trees and walls, and adds 1d6 to its first attack each turn while perched above a foe. Deny it the high ground and it loses most of its bite.
Tell Us How It Ran
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 ("SRD 5.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Clay Cyanide Miniatures is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC. This content is compatible with the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game. Companion rules, lore, names, and original mechanics © Clay Cyanide LLC.
Technical Specifications
32mm, 75mm
STL, Pre-supported STL
Standard or ABS-like resin, 0.05mm layer height
Yes — ready to print, optimized supports included
Played Kallikantzaros at your table? Log in with your Obsidian Tavern account to leave a balance note, a war story, or a file issue — the sharpest reports get the block revised.
Log in to comment